Local
filmmakers Joe and Dan Masucci knew they needed someone special
to play their latest project’s darkest, most enigmatic character.
While the character appeared only in the opening and closing
moments of the film, his performance had to establish the
tone for everything that followed and set the story in uneasy,
suspense-driven motion. Finally, when the time was right,
the character had to answer just enough of the audience’s
questions to keep people talking about the film—and, hope
the film’s creators, telling their friends about it.

Yet,
the two brothers admit that even they were surprised when
their ideal candidate for the role—the actor they had in mind
when they created the character, in fact—agreed to lend his
talent to the Scotia-based duo’s first feature-length production,
The Last Round.

“I do
get my share of these mysterious characters, don’t I?” smirked
William B. Davis from behind a desk in the basement of a cast
member’s home.

Clad
in his trademark dark suit, the actor best known for portraying
the sinister, paranoia-inducing Cigarette Smoking Man (aka
CSM) on the The X-Files television series explained
that a mutual friend put him in touch with the Masuccis. After
reading the script, he agreed to fly from his home in Vancouver,
B.C., to the Capital Region for a few days to play “Mitchell,”
the man behind the film’s central event: a game of Russian
roulette.

“The
rules of the game are simple,” said Dan Masucci. “One spin,
six pulls . . . one of them has to die.”

“It’s
really a compelling story,” said Davis of the screenplay that
brought him here.

The brothers
wrote the script together, along with author (and former Metroland
editor) Peter Hanson. Based on an award-winning short film,
The Last Round tells the story of six desperate souls
who end up in a desolate shack together playing the deadly
game. Each of the men—who range from a racecar driver to a
shy recluse—has his own unique reasons for participating in
the game, explained Joe Masucci.

Filmed
over the course of two years, The Last Round was shot
entirely on digital camcorder “for the price of a car,” said
Joe. The scenes with Davis were shot only after the rest of
the filming was completed.

While
both filmmakers agreed that Davis’ presence “raises the bar”
for the entire production, that’s not to say that the former
X-Files villain is the only cast member with movie
experience. The list of cast and crew provides a relative
who’s who of local talent, including Albany native Rich Lounello,
who has appeared on episodes of The Sopranos and Sex
and the City, as well as the upcoming big-screen adaptation
of The Producers. Here, Lounello plays one of the film’s
six roulette participants.

In less-prominent
roles, the Masuccis cast local horror-film auteurs Bruce Hallenbeck
and Jeff Kirkendall, and former Albany congressional candidate
Warren Red lich even makes an appearance. Thanks to everyone
from local town justices to family members, the Masuccis said
they rarely had any problems finding aspiring thespians in
their social and professional circles.

“We’re
really lucky because most of the people here are our friends,”
said Dan Mas ucci, gesturing around the cramped basement set
at cast and crew members. “Probably the farthest away anyone
has come for this film, with the exception of Bill [Davis],
has been Saratoga.”

“This
all just goes to show that it can be done in this area,” he
continued. “If you’re creative, you can find everything you
need around here to make a great film.”

And in
many ways, that’s exactly what the brothers did. According
to the duo, when a scene at a racetrack was needed, the cast
and crew arranged for filming to take place between events
at Lebanon Valley Speedway. When they needed a hospital set,
they made a deal with a local high school to use the nurse’s
office. When the script called for Davis’ character to set
up a temporary base of operations in a “seedy, dirty, abandoned
warehouse,” the crew set up shop in a cast member’s basement
in Albany.

Davis
said that it’s that supportive spirit that provides one of
the biggest advantages to local filmmakers—and that’s drawing
him back to independent filmmaking.

“If you’re
in a film town and you want to make a movie, everybody wants
a piece of it,” he said. “When you come to places like this,
there’s a much more friendly and supportive feel to the whole
process.”

With
filming finished and only the final editing left to complete,
the brothers hope that the “friendly and supportive” vibe
will carry over into other regions as they plan to begin touring
the film festivals once the The Last Round is released
in 2006.